Defence Force (Home Loans Assistance) Amendment Bill 2006

Bills Digest no. 3 2006–07

Defence Force (Home Loans Assistance) Amendment Bill
2006

WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as
introduced and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest
does not have any official legal status. Other sources should be
consulted to determine the subsequent official status of the
Bill.

Passage History

The Bill would amend the Defence Force (Home Loans
Assistance) Act 1990 to extend the operation of the Defence
HomeOwner Scheme for a further 12 months beyond its current
finishing date of 31 December 2006.

The Defence HomeOwner Scheme (DHOS) was introduced in 1991 to
assist eligible members and ex-members of the Australian Defence
Force to purchase their own home by providing a subsidy on the
interest of a home loan borrowed from the approved lender, the
National Australia Bank.

The scheme is administered in accordance with the Defence
Force (Home Loans Assistance) Act 1990. The Defence Housing
Authority administers the scheme on behalf of the Department of
Defence.

The Explanatory Memorandum states that the purpose of
the 12 month date extension provided by this Bill is to:

provide the Department of Defence with the opportunity to
conduct a review of home ownership assistance that is more
appropriate to the contemporary home loan market

permit the issue of certificates of entitlement that establish
ADF members eligibility and access to the assistance up to 31
December 2007

preserve the entitlements of ADF members who are eligible to
assistance under the Defence HomeOwner Scheme, but have not
accessed the entitlement, pending the implementation of revised
assistance, and

give effect to an agreement reached between the Commonwealth
and the National Australia Bank, as the sole provider, to extend
the current franchise date to 31 December 2007.(1)

A review of
the DHOS was announced by the ADF on 10 May 2006. The broad
objectives of the review are to develop a revised scheme that:

supports recruitment, retention and resettlement;

is cost effective for defence; and

recognises the benefits home ownership provides to both members
and defence.(2)

The Explanatory Memorandum states that there are no financial
implications of this Bill.(3) It is not clear whether
this refers to any new or fresh costs to the Commonwealth.
Presumably extending the scheme for a further year requires
financial resources to be expended by the Commonwealth in the same
manner as the current arrangements.

Sue Harris Rimmer
21 July 2006
Bills Digest Service
Information and Research Services

This paper has been prepared to support the work of the
Australian Parliament using information available at the time of
production. The views expressed do not reflect an official position
of the Information and Research Service, nor do they constitute
professional legal opinion.

IRS staff are available to discuss the paper's
contents with Senators and Members and their staff but not with
members of the public.

Except to the extent of the uses permitted under the
Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
information storage and retrieval systems, without the prior
written consent of the Parliamentary Library, other than by members
of the Australian Parliament in the course of their official
duties.